Germany
Private bankruptcies almost doubled – High number also expected in 2022
Private bankruptcies rose last year for the first time in ten years. Photo: Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The number of personal bankruptcies is rising again for the first time in years. According to the Crif credit agency, there is one reason above all.
The number of private bankruptcies in Germany has risen again for the first time in ten years and has almost doubled in 2021.
According to data from the credit agency Crif, there were 109,031 personal bankruptcies, 93.6 percent more than in 2020. Crif Managing Director Frank Schlein attributed this primarily to a change in the law that many of those affected had been waiting for. In his estimation, the economic consequences of the pandemic in particular will cause many consumers trouble this year. Crif therefore considers up to 110,000 private bankruptcies possible.
Many people who would have suffered a loss of income due to unemployment or short-time work would have tried to survive with their own reserves or privately borrowed money. “The financial reserves of many of those affected have been used up. Added to this are the constantly rising rental and energy prices,” said Schlein. “Therefore, we assume that personal bankruptcy figures will continue to be high in 2022.”
Legislative changes had an impact
According to him, a change in the law played a particularly important role last year, according to which consumers can be released from their remaining debts more easily after three years instead of the previous six. “Those affected wanted to use the announced reduction in the duration of the procedure from six to three years and therefore only submitted the application in 2021,” explained Schlein.
According to the information, the economic consequences of the corona pandemic also left their first traces. Many employees and self-employed people who lost their jobs in whole or in part during the pandemic eventually ran out of financial cushions. Without government aid packages worth billions, there would probably have been even more private bankruptcies, the credit agency suspects.
More private bankruptcies in all federal states
According to the information, increasing numbers were recorded in all federal states last year. In seven countries, personal bankruptcies have more than doubled compared to the previous year. Above all in Hamburg (plus 135 percent) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (plus 132.2 percent). The smallest increase was in Saxony-Anhalt with an increase of 39 percent.
Measured by the number of inhabitants, Bremen was hardest hit with 247 personal bankruptcies per 100,000 inhabitants. Lower Saxony followed with 180 and Hamburg with 172 insolvencies per 100,000 inhabitants. The numbers were lowest in Bavaria (86), Baden-Württemberg (99) and Thuringia (109).
In absolute terms, the non-city states of North Rhine-Westphalia (27,263), Lower Saxony (14,384) and Bavaria (11,345) were at the top of the insolvency statistics.